When--and why--should nutritional state control neurotransmitter synthesis?

Abstract

The rates at which neurons synthesize such Group I neurotransmitters as serotonin, acetylcholine, and the catecholamines norepinephrine and dopamine depend physiologicall on the availability to them of the circulating precursors for these compounds (tryptophan, choline and tyrosine, respectively). The concentrations of precursor in the circulation and in neurons change rapidly after food consumption, depending upon what is eaten. Nutrient intake thus normally influences the synthesis of these neurotransmitters. Neurons that emit signals by releasing serotonin, acetylcholine, dopamine, or norepinephrine participate in the control of a number of bodily functions and behaviors (e.g., hunger, food choice, sleep, alertness, sensitivity to environmental stimuli and disease states). Dietary manipulations (or the consumption of individual nutrients) can thus be used as tools for the experimental analysis of functions mediated by monoaminergic or cholinergic neurons, and as adjuncts in the treatment of some diseases of these neurons. It is unclear "why" the evolutionary process should have "allowed" the neurotransmission mediated by acetylcholine or the monoamine transmitters to be influenced by the vagaries of food choice. One possible benefit that might accrue to the organism as a result of this dependency would be the use of cholinergic or monoaminergic neurons as "sensors", providing the brain with information about peripheral metabolic state. Thus carbohydrate consumption, which--by altering plasma amino acid levels accelerates brain serotonin synthesis--enhances the release of a transmitter (serotonin) that tends to diminish the animal's desire to consume carbohydrates.